The Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) has left the National School Boards Association (NSBA), making it the 25th state to exit.
The NASB’s decision on Saturday adds to a mass exodus of departures following a September letter that compared upset parents at school board meetings to domestic terrorists.
“President Brad Wilkins confirmed that they will not pay dues to the NSBA this year. The money would have been due by June 30,” according to the Omaha World-Herald.
In addition to Nebraska, 24 other states have left the NSBA, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
A total of 30 states have distanced themselves from the national association since the September letter, according to Parents Defending Education, a nonprofit that describes itself as “a national grassroots organization working to reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas,”
The NSBA board sent a letter in September asking federal law enforcement to investigate threats against school officials as domestic terrorism, including implementing the use of the Patriot Act.
“As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes,” the letter read in part.
In a Texas independent investigation prior to its departure from the NSBA in May, it was found that the NSBA had previously apologized for the letter. However, according to a Fox News report, interim CEO and executive director Chip Slaven “was behind the Letter, both in origin and substance” and prematurely had exchanges with a senior education advisor at the White House on the letter’s release.
The Texas Association of School Boards determined that the apology was insufficient to change its decision to leave the national association, a move repeated by a growing number of states.
The Daily Wire previously reported that Senate Republicans had called for Attorney General Merrick Garland to return to Capitol Hill to face additional questions about the Justice Department’s role in addressing tensions between parents and school boards in November.
“We remain deeply concerned that your October 4 Memorandum is being used by the DOJ and the FBI as a basis to pursue investigations against American parents for First Amendment-protected activities,” the letter read.
Senate Judiciary GOP calls upon AG Merrick Garland to testify before them again: “We remain deeply concerned that your October 4 Memorandum is being used by the DOJ and the FBI as a basis to pursue investigations against American parents for First Amendment-protected activities.” pic.twitter.com/yMrnJ8iuCu
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) November 30, 2021
“You stated that the ‘purpose of this Memorandum is to get our law enforcement to assess the extent of the problem’ and that the Memo ‘comes before investigations.’ When asked why the DOJ was treating parents at school boards as domestic terrorists, you said: ‘[m]y Memo says nothing about domestic terrorism, says nothing about parents committing any such things,” the letter continued.
Source: Dailywire
